Alcohol and Health

In short, yes. Alcohol has been linked to around 60 different diseases, although there is some evidence that suggests low intakes of alcohol may actually reduce your risk of a small number of diseases.

High Blood Pressure

Heavy alcohol consumption is associated with high blood pressure (1), and you may be surprised what constitutes heavy drinking. However low level alcohol intake may have no or some effect on blood pressure, we’re not sure yet.

Alcohol Dependency

People who rely on alcohol to relieve their stress are more likely to develop alcohol abuse and dependence issues. This can have a worsening impact on mental health as alcohol is a depressant. Additionally, fatty liver disease and eventually cirrhosis of the liver can occur due to heavy drinking, with some evidence that women’s livers are more susceptible than mens to the effects of alcohol.

Cancer

Alcohol has been linked to a number of cancers, including cancers of the head and neck (mouth, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus), digestive tract (stomach, colon, and rectum) and breast.

Reduced Brain Health

New research suggests that any amount of alcohol will have a negative effect on the brain's structure and health (2). The risks to brain health may increase in those with the cumulative issues of high blood pressure, drinking and a higher BMI.

Hazardous Behaviours

Intoxication can increase risk of involvement in hazardous behaviours such as risk taking, violence, accidents, injury and harmful behaviours linked to depression.

Cardiovascular Disease

Research looking at populations often finds that alcohol abstainers have a slightly higher incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) than their low alcohol consuming peers, leading us to sensically conclude that small amounts of alcohol may protect heart health. However more recent studies have found that once you remove prior drinkers from the alcohol abstinence groups there is no difference in CVD risk (3). This means that alcohol is unlikely to have a protective effect but it doesn’t necessarily increase risk in very small amounts.

Reducing Stress

Alcohol can relieve acute feelings of stress, this is supported by evidence to show that stress signals in the brain reduce after low alcohol consumption (4). The stress reduction was found to be similar to that of exercising, but of course exercise has much more health benefits besides. It is important to note that alcohol may worsen mental health overtime if it is increasingly relied upon as a stress management tool.

According to WHO (2021), 3 million deaths per year are due to harmful use of alcohol and as far as I know, no deaths per year are attributed to NOT drinking alcohol. Sounds like a win for the alcohol abstainers, but not so fast, there are people who live very long and healthy lives whilst enjoying alcohol, what about them?

People living in so-called ‘blue zones’ around the world have some of the healthiest and oldest people in the world, and these people often drink regularly, if not daily, as part of their culture. Go figure! This may be due to a moderate intake of red wine, which is high in antioxidant polyphenols and a culture based around social drinking and sharing meals instead of binge drinking.

Additionally some evidence shows that alcohol abstainers do not live as long as low alcohol drinkers. That being said, the populations more likely to drink alcohol globally are the high socio-economic populations who tend to have longer life expectancies anyway due to better healthcare, education and opportunities. This doesn’t mean that it’s the alcohol helping them to live longer.

Another thing that can skew our view of the life expectancy of alcohol abstainers is that this group typically also includes prior alcohol users and abusers which is linked to unhealthy behaviours that could reduce life span before they became alcohol abstinent. It turns out that those without a history of drinking have a life expectancy similar to that of low alcohol consumers (5). Meaning that in all likelihood alcohol doesn’t make you live longer but it can be part of a healthy lifestyle in small amounts, and not necessarily shorten your life.

Basically

Ultimately your life expectancy and quality of life is affected by so much more than just how much alcohol you decide to drink. It is a good idea for your health and longevity to abstain from or limit alcohol intake whilst also tackling other hugely important lifestyle behaviours.

Heavy drinking is classed as drinking over 10 standard drinks per week and 4 or more standard drinks in one session as a female. This equates to 1 litre of wine per week or 2 medium glasses of wine per session.

However looking at the research I would suggest your upper limits of alcohol intake should be set lower than current guidelines to aim for under 6 drinks per week and no more than 1 per day as a female.

Red wine is considered a more nutrient dense alcoholic drink due to the polyphenol content but you may have to travel to a blue zone in Sardinia, Italy to reap the health benefits of their organic home grown red wines for maximum health benefits.

It would appear that the dose makes the poison, with low levels of alcohol consumption as outlined above having minimal effects on cardiovascular disease risk and life span. However there is growing evidence that alcohol should not be encouraged for long term health even though it can be incorporated in small amounts into an otherwise healthy lifestyle.

Basically

Government recommendations are to drink no more than 10 standard drinks per week, however the measurements used for standard drinks are surprisingly small. I would go even further and recommend 0 - 6 drinks per week for optimal health in line with current research. Red wine may be the most nutrient dense . Focusing on limiting alcohol intake and living an overall healthy lifestyle is a brilliant idea for your health.